Picture Overload

WARNING…This blog post has an overload of pictures in it.  If you don’t like looking at pictures, hit the back button on your web browser now.

This lovely Saturday morning I woke up to a lovely surprise of a blow out diaper of Autumn’s.  It was all over her bed, her clothes, her blanket, and in her hair.  Needless to say, she went straight into the tub.  After that we did our normal Saturday morning routine of watching the Disney Channel and having cereal for breakfast.  When Dad woke up, we went outside to feed Gigi a nasty old banana peel along w/ some goat feed.

After that, we went to water the garden.  We have our first wisteria blooming and growing along the fence.  It is so pretty and I can’t wait for all of it to start blooming.

I noticed there were some pretty flowers blooming over on the lot, so Autumn & I walked over there to take a look at them.  They were these tall (as tall as Autumn) purple Iris.  They just come up every year in that same spot on their own.  SO PRETTY!

I loved this shot w/ the old barn behind them.  I think it is so picturesque.

We also walked down to the little creek at the back of the lot.  There were wild flowers like this growing all over.  I can’t say it enough…I LOVE NATURE!

I guess my love of nature is starting to rub off on Autumn…she’s turning into a tree hugger! LOL!

After having some egg salad sandwiches for lunch and getting Dad off to work, I decided to finally do something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time.  I’ve been wanting to take Autumn down to Don’s apartment complex and take some pictures.  There are so many cool places to take pictures b/c of the different backgrounds and textures the place has.  I really wish that I were better at taking more professional looking pictures.  I’m going to start saving up to buy a nice camera and maybe even take some classes.  Below are some of my amateur attempts at picture taking.  (There are more on my Facebook page.)

     She did pretty good, but was worn out on the drive home and she fell asleep.  We stopped to get some groceries and I stayed out in the car w/ her while Mom went in so she could sleep some more.  She’s so cute and innocent  looking when she’s asleep.

After we got home, we made the Thai chicken pasta from last night, b/c it was so dang good I wanted everyone else to try it.  Dad & Autumn decided to have theirs out in the garden.  We found the recipe here.  Below is the recipe w/ a few modifications that I made b/c it is SO GOOD and SO EASY. I  highly recommend everyone try it.

3/4 cup Italian Dressing, divided
1 lb.  boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 Tbsp. crunchy peanut butter (yes, it has to be CRUNCHY)
2 Tbsp.  honey
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 tsp.  crushed red pepper (OPTIONAL)
1 bag (8 oz.) fresh sugar snap peas, rinsed, drained
16-24 oz.  thin spaghetti, cooked, drained

POUR 1/4 cup of the dressing over chicken in medium bowl; toss to coat. Cover. Refrigerate 1 hour to marinate.

MIX remaining 1/2 cup dressing, peanut butter, honey, soy sauce and crushed red pepper (OPTIONAL) with wire whisk until well blended; set aside.

COOK and stir chicken in large skillet on medium-high heat 5 minutes. Add snap peas; cook and stir an additional 3 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove skillet from heat. Add dressing mixture and spaghetti; toss lightly. Serve immediately. Or, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Autumn had fun helping out in the garden.  She gathered up all the black containers that the plants came in and spent a good 25-30 minutes just stacking and un-stacking them.  What a cheap and easy way to keep her entertained while we worked.

And yes, I had Mom take this picture for proof to show that I also helped in the garden.  I kind of have a reputation for not liking to weed or be outside getting my hands dirty.  But, the weather was so gorgeous today…it was warm and overcast w/ a nice breeze.  I don’t mind gardening in those types of conditions…it’s just when it’s 105 degrees outside w/ 80% humidity that I turn into a whimp and don’t like to garden.  I’m excited for all the yummy vegetables that our garden will produce this year.  As you can see, we already have more onions than we could ever use.

While we were gardening, the sun came out and it got really hot really fast.  So, the girls whimped out and went and put our feet in the pool.  I was thinking it might be warm enough to swim in…UM, NO!  It was still freezing cold!  But, it felt good to stick our feet in.